Estudio de los recursos financieros para la industria agroalimentaria y el desarrollo rural: Caracterización del capital humano en las cooperativas de crédito mediante el análisis delphi

STUDYING THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR AGRI-FOOD INDUSTRY AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT: DESCRIPTION OF HUMAN CAPITAL IN CREDIT UNIONS THROUGH THE DELPHI ANALYSIS

Elies Seguí Mas Universitat Politècnica de València

Ricardo J. Server Izquierdo Universitat Politècnica de València Summary Credit unions have been a key element for recent agri-food industry and rural development. However, whereas there are practical applications implemented in banks, there are rarely empirical studies about this legal form of banking system. Nowadays, the financial crisis is affecting the development of certain industries and territories. Credit unions, as singular financial organizations, have intangible elements with peculiar characteristics. We must study these characteristics to manage their competitive advantages and provide the management with relevant information for decision making. Through the Delphi analysis, this article will identify the singularities of human capital in these entities. The singularities of the credit union sector show that human resources are potentially more determined to adopt a strong corporate culture and invest more in training. On the other hand, main deficits of credit unions will be their aptitudes and lesser capacities, academic level or lesser investment in training.

Key words: Agri-food industry, human capital, intangible assets, intellectual capital, credit unions.

1. INTRODUCTION Financial information represents the core of business information systems and, therefore, are critical for decision making and strategic planning of the organization. Accounting has recently suffered evident loss of reliability and social importance as a result of the arising of a new economic paradigm. Several studies (Di Piazza and Eccles; 2002; Amat; 2002) demonstrate that a significant part of the value that markets attribute to corporations is not found in their balance sheets (even during stock markets crises). Financial markets have identified the existence of a growing invisible balance sheet (Sveiby, 1997) in corporations. That invisible balance sheet is consequence of the differences between the real value of corporations (market value) and the result value of the application of generally accepted accounting criteria and principle (accounting value). Such a difference has been one of the main motivations for the arising of methodologies to identify, measure and manage intangible and intellectual assets of an organization, especially those that accounting cannot collect. The management of intangible assets of an organization is an outstanding competitive factor in the business literature of the last decade. Today, without a doubt, knowledge has an essential role in the social and economic development since its emergence, process and transfer are shown as source of power and productivity (Castells, 1997). Thus, before the current environment that is quickly becoming uncertain and heterogeneous, the management of intellectual capital appears as one of the most evident responses to identify measure and manage critical resources of an organization. Obviously, the economic reality gives an increasing weight to intangible assets within the chain of goods and services that makes the correct valuation of corporations and their assets more complex. This situation caused the arising of diverse models to identify and measure the intangible assets of an organization. Their objective is to optimize the management of intangible elements that make possible to develop the creation of value by the corporation. The general application of intangible assets

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management is still distant. Currently, there are some significant experiences in this field (in which the banking sector is in the vanguard). This study will approach the accounting of human capital intangibles within a concrete business reality: credit unions. These corporations represent a singular case in the financial system and that, despite their reduced relative weight in the sector, this type of financial institutions has been a key element for recent socio-economic development of extensive regions (its role is evident in sectors such as agri-food industry). However, whereas there are practical applications implemented in banks and savings banks, there are rarely empirical studies about this legal form of banking system. As a result, this study will approach the description of human capital in credit unions to provide relevant information for decision making to this type of corporations in a highly complex and increasingly competitive environment such as the banking industry. The research is developed through the qualitative Delphi methodology which is appropriate for this state of analysis where there is a clear lack of information about the analyzed phenomenon (Sanchez et al, 1999). This study is structured in six parts. The first two establish -in a concise manner- the conceptual framework of human and intellectual capital and define the role of credit unions within the banking system. Parts four and five study a case distinguishing among previous aspects (methodologies, sources, general approach to the case, etc.) and the measure of variables and indicators of human capital. Finally, we establish implications for the optimization of human capital of the analyzed corporation, and we present conclusions from the case study. On this matter, it is compulsory to formulate the following research questions: 

Does the legal form influence the configuration of human capital in the organization?



Which are the peculiar characteristics of human capital in credit unions? What differentiates them from banks?

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2. HUMAN CAPITAL Philosophers like Aristotle and classical economists such as Adam Smith or Alfred Marshall pointed out the importance of persons in any human corporation. Nevertheless, it is just in the last years when the great relevance of persons has been noticed and new concepts like human capital have emerged. The term human capital was coined for the first time by Nobel prize winner in economics Theodore W. Shultz in 1961. Since then, business literature has included different and heterogeneous definitions under this concept. However, beyond the number of existing definitions, there is certain consensus to determine human capital as the group of skills, experiences and knowledge of personnel in an organization. According to researchers on this subject, in the perception of human capital value, there are three main phases (Davenport, 2000; Ortega, 2004): 1) Human capital as a cost. Persons are an important part of its exploitation expenses. Although they are essential to generate income in the financial year, the perception of human capital value is centered in the implied cost (and its control). 2) Human capital as an asset. “Persons are the main asset of the organization” represents a higher level concept of human capital. Hence, persons are seen as resources from which future benefits are expected and are under the corporation’s control. 3) Human capital as investor. In the last years, the characteristics of the job market (under unemployment, more rotation of employees, etc.) have involved the conceptualization of human capital as something more than an asset. In this case, given the more power in negotiation of personnel, -instead of investing money in the corporation –it does it with time, knowledge, skills and experience.

In conclusion, regardless of its perception, many researchers consider human capital as one of the main factors that explain productivity growth in the long term in an organization (Saá and Ortega,

4

2002). Many studies have tried to compare human capital with business results (Hall, 1992, etc.), and two traditional approaches have been identified (Danvila, 2006): 

Through variable flows which are representative of the corporation’s investment in training for –later- compare them with the obtained results.



Through qualitative studies of empirical character based on questionnaires.

In addition, as Gratton (2000) states, different European and American studies have determined the influence of employees’ behavior on financial results of corporations according to the following causal model: Insert Figure 1 about Here To define and disintegrate the variables on this point, the equation of human capital of Davenport (2000) may be interesting. It defines human capital as the sum of capacity and behavior multiplied by effort and time. Insert Figure 2 about Here Furthermore, to homogenize the exposed concepts, it will be useful to define the integral elements of the human capital equation: 1) Ability implies expertise in a number of activities or forms of work. It has three main elements: a) Skill is the familiarity with methods and own means of a determined task. b) Knowledge represents the intellectual context in which a worker performs and – therefore- the worker’s mastery to fulfill a job position. c) Talent is the innate capability of an individual to perform a specific task.

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2) Behavior –since it may be observed- reflects our values, beliefs and reactions in the presence of the reality that surrounds us. It contributes to the performance of tasks inherent to one activity and responds to the individual’s experience and situational stimulus in certain periods of time. 3) Efforts represent the conscious application of physical and mental resources for a concrete goal. It is related to labor ethics, it gives value to capabilities and behavior of individuals (it would not be useful to have capabilities without efforts for the achievement of determined results). 4) Time is the chronological element and it has been –usually- excluded from human capital models since it cannot be found in the person’s mind. Nevertheless, time is a fundamental personal resource which is under the individual’s control. On the other hand, and as Itami and Roehl (1987) indicated, generation of human capital may be obtained and accumulated basically through two paths: 

Training; providing HHRR with new knowledge and skills.



Knowledge received through experience.

3. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: DELPHI ANALYSIS Measuring in social research is more complicated than in natural sciences, since there are more imprecision problems and measuring variations are much more unpredictable in human subjects. In function of the type of research, the use of quantitative or qualitative techniques may result complementary but not exclusive. In fact, it is possible to generate a number of synergies. Consequently, the results are mutually reinforced and allow to study in depth until a point that any of the mentioned methodologies -separately- could reached.

3.1. Delphi method

6

Linstone and Turoff (1975) defined the Delphi technique as a “method of structuring a process of group communication that is efficient for allowing group of individuals as a whole to deal with a complex problem”. This technique tries to be a systematic and recurrent method addressed to obtain opinions of a group of experts (also consensus if possible). Delphi analysis may be used for two fundamental objectives (Dalkey and Rourke, 1971): o

Predictable goals to get information about future scenarios. It is the most known utility and it characterizes the Delphi method as a predictable technique in conditions of uncertainty (Fildes et al, 1978).

o

Obtaining opinions when requiring information about specific topics that do not have previous information. This application is especially relevant when there is not historic data because it allows collecting a broad typology of interrelated variables (Gupta y Clarke, 1996).

On the other hand, distinctive characteristics of this subjective group technique are: 

Participants remain anonymous during the process (preventing groupthink).



Controlled feedback to participants which enables free of noise transmission (that is to say without irrelevant, redundant and even incorrect information, for the study).



There is statistical group response (to take into account all individual opinions for the final group result).

The purpose of the Delphi technique is to obtain a reliable group opinion of experts (Landeta, 1999). The recurrent process ends when it is perceived that the estimations remain stable, that is to say when the median hardly oscillates and the interquartile range stops becoming narrower (with at least two rounds). From this point, the last steps are to get the group response in the last round and prepare the corresponding report.

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The concrete application of the Delphi analysis in the intangibles field has been approached by Sanchez et al (1999). Its goal was to generate some shared guidelines for measuring and diffusion of information about intangible elements illustrating the characteristics to adapt the method to this field. The graphic chart about the development of phases of Delphi analysis specifically in the study of intangible elements is the following: Insert Figure 3 about Here

4. DESCRIPTION OF HUMAN CAPITAL IN CREDIT UNIONS THROUGH THE DELPHI ANALYSIS: PRELIMINARY CONCEPTS. Given the practical lack of previous studies on human capital in credit unions, the application of the Delphi methodology is useful in an exploratory study. For this type of studies, most of social researchers recommend the use of qualitative methodologies (Corbetta, 2003; Sanchez et al, 1999). The goal of the present study is to determine if the legal nature (and philosophical) of credit unions influences on the composition of their human capital. Nevertheless, the application of the Delphi method specially seeks to identify the singularities of human capital of credit unions in relation to banks and savings banks (on a comparative basis). The Delphi method had the opinion of 25 experts from academia, professional (basically credit unions’ CEO) and institutional. We used electronic mail to facilitate the difference questionnaires to the participating experts. This tool is especially useful in this type of studies since it facilitates the filling out of questionnaires and speeds up the sending and reception of information.

4.1. Composition of the group of experts We contacted three profiles of experts to determine the panel of experts: credit unions’ CEO, academic experts in related study areas and technicians of private and public corporations that provide services

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in the industry. We invited different consultants that advise or audit diverse credit unions. We asked seventy one experts, giving priority to a number of credit unions’ CEO for their predictable lower response rate. Regarding the typologies of experts, all belong to the category of “specialists”, there were no facilitators included because they were irrelevant for this analysis. Finally, regarding the number of participants, the first round had 25 experts, keeping 22 of them for the second round. This number is not only statistically significant but also minimizes errors in the qualitative study (since more participation would had hardly reduced errors). The analysis of results determines first the number of valid responses for each question. This way, 25 participants in the study replied to all or most of the questionnaire. We identified some mistakes and we removed those questions in later statistical treatment.

5. DESCRIPTION OF HUMAN CAPITAL IN CREDIT UNIONS THROUGH THE DELPHI ANALYSIS: RESULTS STUDY. The results from opinions regarding the importance of blocks of intellectual capital after the second round generated unanimous response: human capital is the most relevant of the three intellectual capital elements in a credit union. Insert Table I about Here This study proves that convergence of opinions was minimal since the ones referred to human and structural capital did not change at all. Only opinions related to relational capital changed (converging).

5.1: Human capital in credit unions Analysis of the process

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In the first part of the study, we pointed out main weaknesses and strengths of human capital in credit unions. Most experts (twenty four) gave at least one contribution. The results of these open questions are shown later. The second part has thirteen items to evaluate with a scale from zero to ten. The 22 participating experts in the second round valued each of the thirteen questions. Finally, the last part posed four questions to compare human capital of credit unions with the rest of firms in the credit sector. Once more, each participating expert in the second round replied to all questions. Analysis of results The following charts summarize the contributions of the two open questions of the second round of study (strengths and weaknesses of human capital in credit unions): Insert Table II about Here It can be observed that most experts consider that knowledge and relationship between employees and clients, and also with the traditional market of credit unions, are the main strength of their human capital. Furthermore, commitment and belonging feeling of employees are strong points in this type of credit firms. Insert Table III about Here Regarding weaknesses, insufficient training of employees fundamentally stands out; considering general training as well as specialized training on financial products, union matters, marketing, etc. Other weaknesses indicated by experts are not so relevant; lack of motivation, low adaptation capability to change or older age average of employees stand out. On the other hand, with regard to valuation of variables of human capital of unions, the results of statistical processing of the data –after the second round– reached an absolute consensus in the response of the group (which overcomes the three opinions that did not have consensus in the first round). From the valuations it is possible to determine a new hierarchization of variables of human capital in function of their importance in credit unions:

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Insert Table IV about Here The following figure shows –graphically- previous results within a radial diagram. The figure tries to prove the characteristic profile of human intangible value in credit unions. Insert Figure 4 about Here As it can be observed in the previous chart, commitment and belonging feeling, together with training and learning, are the most valued intangible elements of human capital in credit unions. In this sense, elements such as satisfaction at work, collaboration and teamwork, and communication are also relevant. In the negative side, little relative importance of intangible elements such as flexibility, experience, creativity, education level, or –especially- development outside the work area stand out. It is at least strange to find high valuation of training and learning when –at the same time- it is known that training of personnel is the weakest element of human capital in credit unions. There is a sign that most of firms in the industry have not applied policies to attract and/or train personnel to correct this relevant deficit (or they have recently implemented such policies). The following figure illustrates the convergence produced in the statistical opinion of the group in respect to the evaluated thirteen intangible elements of human capital. A higher position in the diagram box logically indicates that intangible element has more relative importance within the credit union sector. Insert Figure 5 about Here The results of the second sample show how -in twelve of the thirteen evaluated intangible elementssignificant convergence of opinion of experts was produced increasing the level of group consensus. As it has been proved, hierarchization of elements of human capital has slightly changed after the second round. Although there are few changes among elements with equivalent median, selfmotivation increases at expense of work environment, and formal education level decreases until the

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twelfth place (flexibility and creativity win positions). However, we insist that they are alterations that do not have too much importance in the intermediate and low zone of the chart. The significant more valuation of two main elements (commitment and training) in median and mean terms it is important. Analogically, the least valued element (development outside the work area) wins value on its main indicators. The following figure represents the results of the comparative analysis between the main group of intangible elements of human capital in credit unions and other banking firms such as banks and savings banks. Insert Table V about Here After the second round of the study, when comparing human capital of credit unions with other firms in the credit industry, an absolute consensus exists regarding the statistical response of the experts group. In addition, there is unanimous opinion stating that academic qualification of personnel in credit unions is lower than in personnel of banks and savings banks. On the contrary, unanimity of the group to qualify commitment and belonging feeling of workers in credit unions with superior value stands out. During this round, the opinion of the group changed regarding the efforts to train personnel in credit unions. Whereas at the end of the first round there was consensus considering that these efforts in credit unions were similar in banks and savings banks; after the second round, the group considered that the first were lower. In both rounds the most frequent response considered them low; in addition, there were few lower values for the answer in the second round which seemed to have affected the group opinion on this point. It also stands out the fact that training was valued as one of the main intangible elements of human capital and –in contrast- there were consensus to consider that efforts to train are better than efforts developed by banks and savings banks (despite the existence of the Education, Training and Development Fund).

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The following figure shows the convergence level of the experts’ opinion along the two rounds regarding the previous compared questions. It can be verified that there was significant convergence in all studied elements. It especially stands out the unanimous consensus reached in respect to the best valuation given to commitment, motivation and belonging feeling in credit unions. Furthermore, there was also unanimity to value academic qualification of personnel as the “worst”. Insert Figure 6 about Here

6. CONCLUSIONS OF THE STUDY First, it is important to point out that –as in other studies- human capital is, according to the experts, the main group of intangible elements of the intellectual capital in credit unions. This is why having focused the study on this topic has been accurate given its relevance. Second, it is necessary to insist that the credit union industry includes a group of very heterogeneous realities (where firms which are exclusively local interact with others that are much bigger) and – therefore- it is very complicated to extract conclusions and valid comparisons for each of the existing realities. Looking at the results of the qualitative methodologies which we developed in this study, the first specific conclusion is obvious: the legal form significantly determines the structure of the human capital in credit unions. Consequently, in a strong competitive environment such as the banking industry, the future strategy of credit unions should have to reinforce competitive advantages of their human capital and size the opportunities of each scenario. More specifically, human capital of credit unions especially stands out due to the relevance of values and attitudes. Commitment, belonging feeling or motivations of personnel, are not only the most valued elements in the industry but also their levels are above the other credit firms (they constitute clear source of strength for competitive advantage).

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Territorial roots, proximity between directors and subordinates, union ideology or loyalty to the firm are factors that could justify this strong point, which directors of credit unions should continue to promote. The fact that credit unions belong to the so called social economy provides them with ideology which is fundamentally fed by values and attitudes. Furthermore, variables of human capital in credit unions are linked to values and attitudes which –in general- have been the most valued in the hierarchization of intangible elements made by the experts (this fact remarks their relative importance). Elements such as training and learning, satisfaction, collaboration and communication are the most relevant in this type of firms. Developments outside the work area, flexibility, experience, creativity or formal education level are intangible elements which have rarely stood out in credit unions. On the contrary, intangible elements of human capital linked to aptitudes of the personnel represent a clear weakness of credit unions. In this sense, according to the experts, the fundamental weakness of human capital in credit unions is conditioned by the insufficient training and qualification of their employees. Also, consensus reached by the group of experts about the efforts to train and the academic qualification of the personnel in credit unions place them with an obvious disadvantage in respect to banks and savings banks. In addition, except training (which is a very valued intangible element), the other variables related to aptitude (formal education, experience and personal development) are given very little value in the hierarchization. Thus, this weakness identified in credit unions could be relativized –a priori- given its low relevance. Once more, it is important to point out the paradox between the great value given to training when at the same time this represents the main weakness of human capital, and –also- efforts to train are lower than the developed by banks and savings banks (despite of the existence of the Education, Training and Development Fund). In conclusion, credit unions have to redefine their policies to attract human resources. Explicit policies should be established to include profiles with better level of formal education and more training than

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the current ones. In the same manner, policies for training and professional development must be led to overcome the lack of professional qualification of human capital. Thus, the implementation of the Education, Training and Development Fund should involve a competitive differentiated advantage of credit unions. Its fundamental role should be to reach levels in qualification of personnel comparable to the levels of other credit firms. Third, it is convenient to mention intangible elements of human capital in credit unions related to capabilities of personnel. Logically, as a consequence of lower levels of education and due to less general efforts to train, learning in credit unions is worse than the obtained by savings banks and banks. However, it is accurate to make the same objection made in the previous section (related to the heterogeneity of the industry). The experts’ group considered important the variables collaboration, teamwork and communication, although it was unfeasible to relativize their situation in relation to other credit firms. On the contrary, leadership is a secondary variable regarding capabilities of personnel in credit unions. The first general recommendation is to strengthen teamwork to increase the capabilities stock of the firm. Formalization of job networks within and outside the corporations (like credit union groups, etc.) seems like an excellent path to seek synergies and scale’s economies. Another intangible element to be improved is training. Taking into account the possibilities that the information and communication technologies (ICT) currently offer, it seems interesting to include virtual training (e-learning) in the training offer of credit unions (or the services offered by autonomous federations). More flexibility of the offer (with access to contents in an asynchronous form and from any part of the planet) and more cost savings could be achieved (allowing a broader range and more training actions). Given the obvious weakness that involves personnel with less capabilities than competitors (in terms of formal education and training) we must insist that each credit union needs to have recruitment and personnel selection policies addressed to increase the stock of aptitudes of their personnel (for example, selecting only persons with high level studies).

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7. REFERENCES Amat, O. (2002): “Reflexiones y propuestas sobre los problemas de la información contable”. Economistas, 83, pages 94-103. Castells, M. (1997): “La era de la información. Economía, sociedad y cultura”. Alianza Editorial. Madrid. Corbetta, P. (2003): Metodología y técnicas de investigación social. Mc Graw-Hill. Dalkey, N.C. and Rourke, D.L. (1971): Experimental Assesement of Delphi Procedures with Group Value Judgments. Work Document. Rand Corporation, in Sanchez, M.P., Chaminade, C., Escobar, C.G. (1999): En busca de una teoría sobre la medición y gestión de los intangibles en la empresa: una aproximación metodológica. Economiaz, 45. Danvila del Valle, I. (2006): La generación de capital humano a través de la formación: un análisis de su efecto sobre los resultados empresariales. Doctoral thesis. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Davenport T.O. (2000): Capital humano. Creando ventajas competitivas a través de las personas. Gestión 2000. Di Piazza, S.A. and Eccles, R.G. (2002): “Building Public Trust – The Future of Corporate Reporting”. John Wiley & Sons. New York. Fildes, R.; Jalland, M. and Wood, D. (1978): Forecasting in Conditions of Uncertainty. Long Range Planning, vol. II, 4, in Sanchez, M.P., Chaminade, C., Escobar, C.G. (1999): En busca de una teoría sobre la medición y gestión de los intangibles en la empresa: una aproximación metodológica. Economiaz, 45. Gratton, L. (2000): Living Strategy: Putting People at the Heart of Corporate Purpose. Financial Times Press.

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Gupta, U. and Clarke, R. (1996): Theory and Applications of the Delphi Technique: A Bibliography (1975-1994). Technological Forecasting ans Social Change, vol. 53, 2, in Sanchez, M.P., Chaminade, C., Escobar, C.G. (1999): En busca de una teoría sobre la medición y gestión de los intangibles en la empresa: una aproximación metodológica. Economiaz, 45. Hall, R. (1992): The strategic analysis of intangibles resources. Strategic Management Journal, 13 (pages 135-144), EE.UU. in Cañibano Calvo, L. (2002): Directrices para la gestión y difusión de información sobre intangibles. Fundación Airtel móvil, Madrid. Itami, H. and Roehl, T.W. (1987): Mobilizing invisible assets, Harvard University Press, Cambridge. Landeta, J. (1999): El método Delphi. Una técnica de prevision para la incertidumbre. Ariel. Linstone, H.A. and Turoff, M. (1975): The Delphi Method. Techniques and Applications. AddisonWesley, in Landeta, J. (1999): El método Delphi. Una técnica de prevision para la incertidumbre. Ariel. Ortega, R. (2004): El índice de capital humano: una herramienta para fidelizar el capital intelectual. Deusto. Saá Pérez, P. and Ortega Lapiedra, R. (2002): La formación, en Bonache, J. y Cabrera, A.: Dirección estratégica de personas, Prentice-Hall. Sanchez, M.P., Chaminade, C. and Escobar, C.G. (1999): En busca de una teoría sobre la medición y gestión de los intangibles en la empresa: una aproximación metodológica. Economiaz, 45. Sveiby, K.E. (1997): “The New Organizational Wealth:Managing & measuring knowledge-based assets”. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco.

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Figure 1: The link between individual behavior and financial performance

Source: Gratton (2000).

Figure 2: Equation of human capital

Source: Davenport (2000).

Figure 3: Phases of Delphi analysis in the study of intangible elements

Source: Sanchez et al (1999)

Figure 4: Valuation of human capital as intangible element in credit unions

Own source

19

Figure 5: Diagrams of some intangible elements of human capital in credit unions

20

Own source

Figure 6: Comparison diagrams of intangible elements of human capital (credit unions vs. other credit

firms).

11

5,0

4,5 4 4,0

3,5

6 24

3,0

18 12 2 2,5

13

2,0

Commitment, motivation and belonging feeling of the worker (Round 1)

14 3,0

13 5

Efforts to train personnel (FEPC) (Round 1)

Commitment, motivation and belonging feeling of the worker (Round 2)

15

13 5

Efforts to train personnel (FEPC) (Round 2)

9

15

4

2,5

2,0

2

1,5

1,0

17 7 1 12 Academic qualification of personnel (Round 1)

12

17

7 Academic qualification of personnel (Round 2)

Flexibility and versatility of personnel (Round 1)

Flexibility and versatility of personnel (Round 2)

Own source

21

Table I: Hierarchization of elements of intellectual capital in credit unions

Group

INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL

1

Human Capital (capabilities, attitudes, etc.).

2

Relational Capital (relationships with clients, etc.).

3

Structural Capital (processes, technology, etc.). Own Source Table II: Strengths of human capital of credit unions

Order STRENGHTS OF HUMAN CAPITAL IN CREDIT UNIONS

Nº

1

Relationship and proximity of clients

10

2

Commitment, employee involvement and belonging feeling of the employee

9

3

Client knowledge and rural market

9

4

Proximity and nearness between the direction and subordinates

5

5

Flexibility and capability to adapt

4

6

Link and commitment with work environment

4

7

Attitude, dedication, union ideology and honesty

4

8

Trust

3

9

Motivation, youth, dynamism

2

10

Loyalty to the firm

2

11

Experience

2

12

Stability

1

13

Technology

1

14

Training

1

TOTAL

57 Own source

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Table III: Weaknesses of human capital in credit unions

Order WEAKNESSES OF HUMAN CAPITAL IN CREDIT UNIONS

Nº

1

Insufficient training (general and specialized training).

24

2

Lack of motivation and incentives

4

3

Resistance to change and low adaptation capability

3

4

Older age and slow generation renovation

3

5

Lack of professional qualifications and precarious direction

2

6

Technology and scarce experience in ICT.

2

7

Lack of corporate culture and administrative

2

8

Lack of commercial attitude

2

9

Difficult access to professional market and capability to offer

2

10

Insufficient versatility

1

11

Self-complacency

1

12

Difficulty to learn

1

13

Lack of means to compete

1

14

Lack of knowledge of social role

1

15

Sometimes excessive relationship with clients

1

16

Specialization

1

17

Lack of involvement of the member to make known the credit union

1

18

Mental preparation for success

1

19

Professional expectations

1

20

Local vision in some cases

1

TOTAL

55 Own source

23

Table IV: Hierarchization of intangible elements of human capital

Order

HIERARCHIZATION OF INTANGIBLE ELEMENTS OF HUMAN CAPITAL

m



1

Commitment and belonging

9,00

8,74

2

Training and learning

9,00

8,60

3

Satisfaction at work

8,00

8,00

4

Collaboration and teamwork

8,00

7,95

5

Communication

8,00

7,52

6

Self- motivation

7,00

7,43

7

Work environment

7,00

7,38

8

Leadership

7,00

6,95

9

Flexibility

6,00

6,67

10

Experience

6,00

6,48

11

Creativity

6,00

6,43

12

Formal education level

6,00

6,24

13

Development outside the work area

5,50

5,60

Own source

Table V: Comparison chart of intangible elements of human capital (trade unions vs. other credit firms).

Much less

GROUP

Less

Similar to banks and savings banks

Commitment, motivation and belonging feeling of the worker Efforts to train personnel

X

Academia personnel

X

Flexibility personnel

and

versatility

of

Much more

X

(role of the Education, Training and Development Fund)

qualification

More

of

X Own source

24